Man pleads guilty to lesser charges in rape of 12-year-old

BATON ROUGE - A man accused of raping his girlfriend’s 12-year-old daughter on several occasions along with arranging sexual encounters between the girl and other men pleaded guilty to lesser offenses on Wednesday.

40-year-old Ivy Martin pleaded guilty to one count of sexual battery and one count of molestation of a juvenile under 14, halting a trial that was set to begin Wednesday.

The investigation into Martin began in November of 2013 after a relative of the victim contacted East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s deputies, explaining that the 12-year-old girl was possibly pregnant and being forced to have sex with Martin, who was the boyfriend of the girl’s mother. A grand jury indicted Martin in March of 2014 on seven counts of aggravated rape and one count of molestation of a juvenile.

He was accused of raping the girl between June of 2013 to November of 2013. Five other people have pleaded guilty in connection with the rape case.